Death is a consequence of sin. the Church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man's sin. 569 Even though man's nature is mortal God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin. 570 "Bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned" is thus "the Last enemy" of man left to be conquered. 571

The Lord's Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. 141 The Breaking of Bread, because Jesus used this rite, part of a Jewish meat when as master of the table he blessed and distributed the bread, 142 above all at the Last Supper. 143 It is by this action that his disciples will recognize him after his Resurrection, 144 and it is this expression that the first Christians will use to designate their Eucharistic assemblies; 145 by doing so they signified that all who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into communion with him and form but one body in him. 146 The Eucharistic assembly (synaxis), because the Eucharist is celebrated amid the assembly of the Faithful, the visible expression of the Church. 147

By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus' passing over to his Father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the Final Passover of the Church in the Glory of the Kingdom.

The presentation of the offerings (the Offertory). Then, sometimes in procession, the bread and wine are brought to the altar; they will be offered by the priest in the name of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice in which they will become his body and blood. It is the very action of Christ at the Last Supper - "taking the bread and a cup." "The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator, when she offers what comes forth from his creation with thanksgiving." 175 The presentation of the offerings at the altar takes up the gesture of Melchizedek and commits the Creator's gifts into the Hands of Christ who, in his sacrifice, brings to perfection all human attempts to offer sacrifices.

At the Last Supper the Lord himself directed his disciples' attention toward the fulfillment of the Passover in the Kingdom of God: "I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." 240 Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist she remembers this promise and turns her gaze "to him who is to come." In her Prayer she calls for his Coming: "Marana tha!" "Come, Lord Jesus!" 241 "May your Grace come and this world pass away!" 242

Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the Last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." 54

Like all the sacraments the Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration, 131 whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital or Church, for a single sick perSon or a whole group of sick persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover the Eucharist should always be the Last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life.

A preparation for the Final journey. If the sacrament of anointing of the sick is given to all who suffer from serious illness and infirmity, even more rightly is it given to those at the point of departing this life; so it is also called sacramentum exeuntium (the sacrament of those departing). 138 The Anointing of the Sick completes our conformity to the death and Resurrection of Christ, just as Baptism began it. It completes the holy anointings that mark the whole Christian life: that of Baptism which sealed the new life in us, and that of Confirmation which strengthened us for the combat of this life. This Last anointing fortifies the end of our earthly life like a solid rampart for the final struggles before entering the Father's house. 139

In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of "passing over" to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of Resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the Last day." 140 The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father. 141

"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beLoved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and Resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with Grace, and a pledge of future Glory is given to us.'" 133

The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will be "everything to everyone." 53 Since the apostolic age the liturgy has been drawn toward its goal by the Spirit's groaning in the Church: Marana tha! 54 The liturgy thus shares in Jesus' desire: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." 55 In the sacraments of Christ the Church already receives the guarantee of her inheritance and even now shares in everLasting life, while "awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the Glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus." 56 The "Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come . . . Come, Lord Jesus!"' 57

Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ, 33 which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everLasting covenant.

The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everLasting life. When the Church for the last time speaks Christ's words of pardon and absolution over the dying Christian, seals him for the last time with a strengthening anointing, and gives him Christ in viaticum as nourishment for the journey, she speaks with gentle assurance:

Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular Judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification 592 or immediately, 593 -or immediate and everLasting damnation. 594

The Resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust," 621 will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done Evil, to the resurrection of judgment." 622 Then Christ will come "in his Glory, and all the angels with him .... Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.... and they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." 623

In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare. 624 The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each perSon has done or failed to do during his earthly life:

The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in Glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its Coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the Final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of Salvation and understand the marvellous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. the Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God's Love is stronger than death. 626

The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving them "the acceptable time, . . . the day of Salvation." 627 It inspires a holy fear of God and commits them to the justice of the Kingdom of God. It proclaims the "blessed hope" of the Lord's return, when he will come "to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all who have believed." 628

The Creed, like the Last book of the Bible, 644 ends with the Hebrew word amen. This word frequently concludes Prayers in the New Testament. the Church likewise ends her prayers with "Amen."

"To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of Salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the perSon of his minister, 'the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,' but especially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."' 11

The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for the new and everLasting covenant in which the Son of God, by beComing incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." 104

So that the "I do" of the spouses may be a free and responsible act and so that the marriage covenant may have solid and Lasting human and Christian foundations, preparation for marriage is of prime importance.

The most common yet most hidden temptation is our lack of Faith. It expresses itself less by declared incredulity than by our actual preferences. When we begin to pray, a thousand labors or cares thought to be urgent vie for priority; once again, it is the moment of truth for the heart: what is its real Love? Sometimes we turn to the Lord as a Last resort, but do we really believe he is? Sometimes we enlist the Lord as an ally, but our heart remains presumptuous. In each case, our lack of faith reveals that we do not yet share in the disposition of a humble heart: "Apart from me, you can do nothing." 20

Very early on, liturgical usage concluded the Lord's Prayer with a doxology. In the Didache, we find, "For yours are the power and the Glory for ever." 4 The Apostolic Constitutions add to the beginning: "the Kingdom," and this is the formula retained to our day in ecumenical prayer. 5 The Byzantine tradition adds after "the glory" the words "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." the Roman Missal develops the Last Petition in the explicit perspective of "awaiting our blessed hope" and of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 6 Then comes the assembly's acclamation or the repetition of the doxology from the Apostolic Constitutions.

Finally, if we pray the Our Father sincerely, we leave individualism behind, because the Love that we receive frees us from it. the "our" at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer, like the "us" of the Last four Petitions, excludes no one. If we are to say it truthfully, our divisions and oppositions have to be overcome. 51

After we have placed ourselves in the presence of God our Father to adore and to Love and to bless him, the Spirit of adoption stirs up in our hearts seven Petitions, seven blessings. the first three, more theological, draw us toward the Glory of the Father; the Last four, as ways toward him, commend our wretchedness to his Grace. "Deep calls to deep." 63

The second series of Petitions unfolds with the same movement as certain Eucharistic epicleses: as an offering up of our expectations, that draws down upon itself the eyes of the Father of mercies. They go up from us and concern us from this very moment, in our present world: "give us . . . forgive us . . . lead us not ... deliver us...." the fourth and fifth petitions concern our life as such - to be fed and to be healed of sin; the Last two concern our battle for the victory of life - that battle of Prayer.

In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by "kingship" (abstract noun), "Kingdom" (concrete noun) or "reign" (action noun). the Kingdom of God lies ahead of us. It is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ's death and Resurrection. the Kingdom of God has been Coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst. the kingdom will come in Glory when Christ Hands it over to his Father:

But the presence of those who hunger because they lack bread opens up another profound meaning of this Petition. the drama of hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to exercise responsibility toward their brethren, both in their perSonal behavior and in their solidarity with the human family. This petition of the Lord's Prayer cannot be isolated from the parables of the poor man Lazarus and of the Last Judgment. 118

Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through Prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony. 159 In this Petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to vigilance of the heart in communion with his own. Vigilance is "custody of the heart," and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: "Keep them in your name." 160 The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch. 161 Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the Last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. "Lo, I am Coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake." 162

The Last Petition to our Father is also included in Jesus' Prayer: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the Evil one." 163 It touches each of us perSonally, but it is always "we" who pray, in communion with the whole Church, for the deliverance of the whole human family. the Lord's Prayer continually opens us to the range of God's economy of Salvation. Our interdependence in the drama of sin and death is turned into solidarity in the Body of Christ, the "communion of saints." 164

In positive terms, the battle against the possessive and dominating self requires vigilance, sobriety of heart. When Jesus insists on vigilance, he always relates it to himself, to his Coming on the Last day and every day: today. the bridegroom comes in the middle of the night; the light that must not be extinguished is that of Faith: "'Come,' my heart says, 'seek his face!'" 17

The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even "struggle in Prayer." 102 Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is Petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own Last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him.

When the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father's plan of Love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial Prayer, not only before he freely delivered himself up (“Abba . . . not my will, but yours."), 53 but even in his Last words on the Cross, where prayer and the gift of self are but one: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do", 54 "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise", 55 "Woman, behold your Son" - "Behold your mother", 56 "I thirst."; 57 "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" 58 "It is finished"; 59 "Father, into your Hands I commit my spirit!" 60 until the "loud cry" as he expires, giving up his spirit. 61

Certain blessings have a Lasting importance because they consecrate perSons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). the dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.

All the sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the Last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in Faith and hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." 182

A farewell to the deceased is his Final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the Last farewell by which the Christian community greets one of its members before his body is brought to its tomb." 191 The Byzantine tradition expresses this by the kiss of farewell to the deceased:

The first and Last point of reference of this catechesis will always be Jesus Christ himself, who is "the way, and the truth, and the life." 24 It is by looking to him in Faith that Christ's faithful can hope that he himself fulfills his promises in them, and that, by loving him with the same Love with which he has loved them, they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. 48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the Last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconocLasts the veneration of icons - of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By beComing incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new "economy" of images.

The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their Last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the Prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. the gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time: - the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be Lasting, grave, and certain; - all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; - there must be serious prospects of success; - the use of arms must not produce Evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

Direct aid is an appropriate response to immediate, extraordinary needs caused by natural catastrophes, epidemics, and the like. But it does not suffice to repair the grave damage resulting from destitution or to provide a Lasting solution to a country's needs. It is also necessary to reform international economic and financial institutions so that they will better promote equitable relationships with less advanced countries. 227 The efforts of poor countries working for growth and liberation must be supported. 228 This doctrine must be applied especially in the area of agricultural labor. Peasants, especially in the Third World, form the overwhelming majority of the poor.

United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains "hidden with Christ in God." 558 The Father has already "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 559 Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the Last day we "also will appear with him in Glory." 560

The Last part of the Catechism deals with the meaning and importance of Prayer in the life of believers (Section One). It concludes with a brief commentary on the seven Petitions of the Lord's Prayer (Section Two), for indeed we find in these the sum of all the good things which we must hope for, and which our heavenly Father wants to grant us.

The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine perSon of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed: Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these Last days, for us and for our Salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God. 91

St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. 196 "Prophet of the Most High", John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the Last. 197 He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the Coming of Christ, and rejoices in being "the friend of the bridegroom", whom he points out as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". 198 Going before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah", John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom. 199

On the threshold of his Passion Jesus announced the Coming destruction of this splendid building, of which there would not remain "one stone upon another". 356 By doing so, he announced a sign of the Last days, which were to begin with his own Passover. 357 But this prophecy would be distorted in its telling by false witnesses during his interrogation at the high priest's house, and would be thrown back at him as an insult when he was nailed to the cross. 358

At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's Love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." 410 He affirms that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many"; this Last term is not restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique perSon of the redeemer who Hands himself over to save us. 411 The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer." 412

Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles "on the night he was betrayed". 429 On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the Salvation of men: "This is my body which is given for you." "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." 430

The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's Hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani, 434 making himself "obedient unto death". Jesus prays: "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. . ." 435 Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life; but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death. 436 Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine perSon of the "Author of life", the "Living One". 437 By accepting in his human will that the Father's will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for "he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree." 438

"The gospel was preached even to the dead." 483 The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of Salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the Last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering." 506 Thomas will also experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen Lord's Last appearance in Galilee "some doubted." 507 Therefore the hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles' Faith (or credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action of divine Grace, from their direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus.

God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. the Word of God gives us to understand this through various features of the sacred text. "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him." 242 None of the animals can be man's partner. 243 The woman God "fashions" from the man's rib and brings to him elicits on the man's part a cry of wonder, an exclamation of Love and communion: "This at Last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." 244 Man discovers woman as another "I", sharing the same humanity.

The Glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us "to be his Sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious Grace", 138 for "the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man's life is the vision of God: if God's revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word's manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God." 139 The ultimate purpose of creation is that God "who is the creator of all things may at Last become "all in all", thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude." 140

God's Love is "everLasting": 41 "For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you." 42 Through Jeremiah, God declares to his people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my Faithfulness to you." 43

"Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and Last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reaSon." 11 Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God's revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created "in the image of God". 12

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of Salvation, in the expectation of a new and everLasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. 22 The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. 23 Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation. the purest figure among them is Mary. 24

"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our Fathers by the prophets, but in these Last days he has spoken to us by a Son." 26 Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one. St. John of the Cross, among others, commented strikingly on Hebrews 1:1-2:

"The whole body of the Faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from the bishops to the Last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals." 55

"and such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigour, and the children of the Church as strength for their Faith, food for the soul, and a pure and Lasting fount of spiritual life." 109 Hence "access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful." 110

Throughout her life and until her Last ordeal 15 when Jesus her Son died on the cross, Mary's Faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfilment of God's word. and so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.

Our profession of Faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, 1 The beginning and the end of everything. the Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine perSon of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works.

By revealing his name God at the same time reveals his Faithfulness which is from everLasting to everlasting, valid for the past ("I am the God of your Father"), as for the future ("I will be with you"). 12 God, who reveals his name as "I AM", reveals himself as the God who is always there, present to his people in order to save them.

"So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." 531 Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys. 532 But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the Kingdom, his Glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. 533 Jesus' Final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand. 534 Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born", in a Last apparition that established him as an apostle. 535

Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's Kingdom, the fulfilment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man: "To him was given dominion and Glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everLasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." 546 After this event the apostles became witnesses of the "kingdom [that] will have no end". 547

The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of Salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the Faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the Last day." 330

In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ promised to remain with them always. the divine mission entrusted by Jesus to them "will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is the Lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, . . . the apostles took care to appoint successors." 373

In this battle against our inclination towards Evil, who could be brave and watchful enough to escape every wound of sin? "If the Church has the power to forgive sins, then Baptism cannot be her only means of using the keys of the Kingdom of heaven received from Jesus Christ. the Church must be able to forgive all penitents their offenses, even if they should sin until the Last moment of their lives." 522

The Christian Creed - the profession of our Faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in God's creative, saving, and sanctifying action - culminates in the proclamation of the Resurrection of the dead on the Last day and in life everlasting.

We firmly believe, and hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives for ever, so after death the righteous will live for ever with the risen Christ and he will raise them up on the Last day. 532 Our Resurrection, like his own, will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:

But there is more. Jesus links Faith in the Resurrection to his own perSon: "I am the Resurrection and the life." 542 It is Jesus himself who on the Last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood. 543 Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life, 544 announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the "sign of Jonah," 545 The sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to death but rise thereafter on the third day. 546

From the beginning, Christian Faith in the Resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. 548 "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body." 549 It is very commonly accepted that the life of the human perSon continues in a spiritual fashion after death. But how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everLasting life?

When? Definitively "at the Last day," "at the end of the world." 555 Indeed, the Resurrection of the dead is closely associated with Christ's Parousia:

The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a perSonal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. the theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. 234 The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom." 235 The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the Faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. 236 The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. 237 "Christ Loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." 238 He has joined her with himself in an everLasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body: 239

"The Church . . . will receive its perfection only in the Glory of heaven," 179 at the time of Christ's glorious return. Until that day, "the Church progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world's persecutions and God's consolations." 180 Here below she knows that she is in exile far from the Lord, and longs for the full Coming of the Kingdom, when she will "be united in glory with her king." 181 The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials. Only then will "all the just from the time of Adam, 'from Abel, the just one, to the Last of the elect,' . . . be gathered together in the universal Church in the Father's presence." 182

"The eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of his wisdom and goodness, created the whole universe and chose to raise up men to share in his own divine life," 150 to which he calls all men in his Son. "The Father . . . determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe in Christ." 151 This "family of God" is gradually formed and takes shape during the stages of human history, in keeping with the Father's plan. In fact, "already present in figure at the beginning of the world, this Church was prepared in marvellous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and the old Advance. Established in this Last age of the world and made manifest in the outpouring of the Spirit, it will be brought to glorious completion at the end of time." 152

Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfilment. We are already at "the Last hour". 553 "Already the Final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect." 554 Christ's Kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church. 555 . . . until all things are subjected to him

Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic Kingdom awaited by Israel 561 which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, Love and peace. 562 According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of Evil which does not spare the Church 563 and ushers in the struggles of the Last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. 564

The Church will enter the Glory of the Kingdom only through this Final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. 578 The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of Evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. 579 God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world. 580

Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgement of the Last Day in his preaching. 581 Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. 582 Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God's Grace as nothing be condemned. 583 Our attitude to our neighbour will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine Love. 584 On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." 585

Through his Grace, the Holy Spirit is the first to awaken Faith in us and to communicate to us the new life, which is to "know the Father and the one whom he has sent, Jesus Christ." 4 But the Spirit is the Last of the perSons of the Holy Trinity to be revealed. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, the Theologian, explains this progression in terms of the pedagogy of divine "condescension":

The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our Salvation. But in these "end times," ushered in by the Son's redeeming Incarnation, the Spirit is revealed and given, recognized and welcomed as a person. Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the Resurrection of the body, and the life everLasting.

At Last Jesus' hour arrives: 117 he commends his spirit into the Father's Hands 118 at the very moment when by his death he conquers death, so that, "raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father," 119 he might immediately give the Holy Spirit by "breathing" on his disciples. 120 From this hour onward, the mission of Christ and the Spirit becomes the mission of the Church: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 121

On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in Faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his Coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "Last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.

Christ will raise us up "on the Last day"; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ: